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A feeling I’ve not felt since…

Earlier this century. That’s the last time I expected to see the Lakers have a shot at winning just about every game they played. While I’m not quite there, I do feel there is a subset of teams in the NBA we are “better” than. The issue has been the young kids playing down or up to their level of competition. Star player out? Rando benchie goes off for 20 points and 7 dimes. Lottery team in the midst of tanking? 22 point blowout. So the story line had been going in recent years.

This year started off much the same. Up to, and including, the 9 game losing streak that culminated with coach Walton and the Lakers addressing reports he had ‘lost the team’ we didn’t play to our level of talent, skill or work ethic. We played down to lower teams and got up big time for the best. I have no idea what changed. Maybe it was the team meeting, maybe it was the media reports and the team not wanting to have to answer questions about their coach, maybe it was LeVar Ball. Who freaking knows or, really, who cares.

The Lakers are playing their best basketball in years. They’re not relying on anyone single player, they’re playing with collective intent. Sure there are breakdowns, and there will continue to be as they grow and the league adjusts, but to see this level of play sustained for most of January into February has been a an absolute blast to watch. Coach Walton has the team playing playoff level defense after we had slipped in December on that end. An improved team-wide effort and the insertion of Josh Hart as a starter over Ennis or Caruso has paid off well on defense. The coaching staff should get some of that credit for making some changes.

Brandon Ingram looked like he was returning to the form we’ve seen in flashes. The form where he scores on a mix of drives, pull ups and catch and shoot opportunities. He made all of his free throws. He had defended well at the rim. He had a game-changing dunk. He canned his three point shots. BI was playing some of his best ball all season last night, definitely worth a look at the highlights.

Josh Hart continued to fill in extremely well at the starting PG position. His second double-double (points and rebounds) as well as some great defense makes him my choice as the back up PG for the foreseeable future. Ennis has been basically terrible all year, Caruso is a G-League level player who will turn in that one great game every once in awhile. Hart shows up every night. He’s canning threes with confidence. He’s bodying up guys and getting in great defensive position (those calls will start to swing his way when he gets more of a defensive rep). In some ways he’s already light years ahead of Lonzo Ball, minus the uncanny vision, but that’s what 4 years of college does for a young player. While I’m under no illusions that Hart is on the verge of stealing Ball’s starting spot I do like how we could have a nice starter/back up progression where we have good to great defenders at the PG spot all game long in the future. Josh Hart: another late first-round diamond unearthed by the Laker scouting department.

Kuzma and Randle both had solid games at the 4, Randle ran into a rough patch in the third where he started turning the ball over by attacking the defense far too aggressively but Luke sat him down to mull it over and got him back in the game down the stretch to help us close it out in style. Kuzma got STAPLES center rocking and rolling with a transition throwdown that could qualify as the dunk of the year. Sometimes Kyle leaves those a little short at the rim…not last night. Epic stuff from the rookie who looks like he’s returning to early season form.

As I said, fun win. Great stuff all around and even the guys who struggled to score (KCP and Clarkson come to mind) found ways to impact the game positively in other ways. We’re one game under .500 at STAPLES. Getting to .500 and pushing past that is a very realistic goal for this team. If we start to approach .500 on the road…look out, NBA, the Lakers are coming for you sooner than expected. Go Lakers.

…in the starting line up? No, Ingram may be bringing the ball up on occasion (especially in the 4th) but Josh Hart is listed as the starting PG. Josh Hart is becoming the Derek Fisher of PGs: there mainly for defense and timely scoring because there are other guys who are better at breaking down a defense. Lonzo Ball has done the same thing when a half court heave isn’t available. He isn’t playing SF, either.

nope, Ingram has been starting at point. you notice that he is guarded by little guys and he has been guarding point guards, while Hart has been goi8ng against bigger guys?

Josh Hart has a lot in common with Fisher, both are very strong, and both a good spot up shooters and both are tough as nails, but Fisher is(was) a much better ball handler. Hart can play 2 or 3, but he’s not really fit to be a 1.

even Luke Walton said that Brandon is playing the point. since Hart is listed officially as a guard, so fan listings will show that, just like BI is listed as a forward, so he won’t be listed as a guard in the paper or on ESPN, but that has nothing to do with where he is being played. Hart has been playing Small Forward. he is 6′ 5″ and 215 pounds. he can hold his own against that position, no problem.

It has been fun to watch and Josh has looked like another steal of the draft. While everything else pretty much went wrong, the scouting department has been amazing. Just one note. BI has been playing the point. And in the NBA.com box score BInis listed at point guard. Hopefully once Ball returns Luke can adjust the rotations to have BI play some PG when Ball is resting.

Good stuff, Jamie. My wife and I took a drive out to Point Reyes this morning and I almost missed your post due to all the new posts. It’s going to be interesting to see how the Lakers play the rest of the season and how Lonzo returning impacts the lineup and our record. All told, Lonzo has missed one third of the games the Lakers have played this season.

While it’s obvious at times that Luke is still learning how to coach and what he has with each player, you have to give him great credit for how this team is playing, defending, and competing. Starting Josh Hart rather than Ennis or Caruso and turning point guard duties over to Ingram was a great move for a couple of reasons.

First, Hart’s presence greatly improved the starting lineup at both ends with his physical defense and intelligent shot selection. Teams that tried to post Josh up and take advantage of the rookie quickly learned that was not a smart move. Kid can defend. I love the Mini-Barkley comparisons. Josh is for real and only Paul George will keep him on the bench.

Second, and more importantly, however, was Luke’s decision to have Ingram take over the starting point guard duties rather than relying on Ennis or Caruso. That was the move that opened up Hart to play small forward, where he continued to show the defensive toughness and skillset to guard bigger players. And by putting him at the point, it ensured Ingram would stay aggressive.

Third, it was good to see Luke prioritize the starting lineup and not worrying about the impact to the bench of promoting one of their key players to a starter. Good to see Luke not hesitate this time to move Josh into the starting lineup to improve them at both ends. It’s great to see a young coach learn and apply the lesson.

The next thing I want to see Luke do is roll out a Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, and Julius Randle small ball lineup. So far, that fivesome has posted zero minutes. I think it could be the Lakers most versatile and deadly lineup.

“The next thing I want to see Luke do is roll out a Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, and Julius Randle small ball lineup. So far, that fivesome has posted zero minutes. I think it could be the Lakers most versatile and deadly lineup.”

That’s an interesting lineup, we’ve basically seen it minus Lonzo Ball and substitute Clarkson for Ball and KCP for Hart, in some situations. My worry has and will continue to be Lonzo’s lack of getting his own shot. That’s what makes Clarkson as valuable as he is to this team. There are other players out there who can drive and create or score better than Jordan does, but they’re on this team. I hope that the many injuries Lonzo has suffered since the summer have kind of added up and sapped his scoring a bit. While he doesn’t need to score like Ingram does, he does need to be able to hit open shots and make layups. He’s struggled in both those areas for most of the season. Same with his free throw shooting which is terrible. All of it compounds his basic issue which is he’s a little too ‘team first’. Same issue I have with Larry Nance Jr.

At any rate, I’m glad they’re taking it easy with his return because a healthy player is a better player, which is better for the team. I think he and Hart as a 1/2 defensive monster would be a ton of fun to watch. They are both defensive pluses. Throw in Ingram, or better yet a defensive superstar like Paul George, and you have the next great Laker Defense of this era.

Good stuff, lately, it’s been a lot more fun to write about and enjoy on game days. Here’s to more games like this recent spate and to a healthier Lonzo making it all even better.

I think Lonzo will be fine. His 3-point shooting has improved greatly since his horrid start. Since 11/18/17, Lonzo has shot 35.6% from deep, 4th best on Lakers behind Hart, Lopez, Ingram, and Kuzma and ahead of KCP’s 34.8% or Clarkson’s 30.1%. I don’t have a comparison for his layups but he’s improved in that area too although not as much as his outside shooting. I think we hold him out until after the All-Star break to make sure he’s 100% ready to go.

Everybody has forgotten how good Lonzo is because of a few great wins without him but his defense and playmaking alone are at the heart of what this team is all about. Kuz is going to be a star and Hart a Derek Fisher or Robert Horry qualiity contributor but make no mistake, Lonzo Ball is the heart and engine of this team which screams watch out when he gets back and this team is running on all cylinders. He will still be the Lakers Rookie of the Year if not decade.

He’s certainly smart, you need guys like him to help manufacture system buckets. But, like many of our smart role players, needs to figure out a way to do more than pass. Especially when you get all the way to the rim. Teams just sit on him to pass now and it often works. I think he’s done a lot with his opportunity, so far, still has some to grow, too.